Are you passionate about providing children with the very best start in life? Our Early Childhood Studies BA (Hons) course seamlessly combines theory with practical experience, so that you can achieve your career goals and make a positive impact on young children’s lives.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS COURSE?

The well-being of babies and young children is at the heart of this degree, which will prepare you to become a confident and competent advocate for children from birth to 5 years. Studying at our recently extended state-of-the-art £71 million City South Campus, you will have access to excellent facilities to enhance your understanding and knowledge.

You will gain a complete understanding of young children’s needs, how they learn, develop and grow and how their early experiences are so fundamentally important. You will also explore wider concepts to support your understanding such as social justice, social mobility and social responsibility.

As you progress through the course, you will develop your personal and professional skills so that after university you should be influential in developing practice, provision and policy, as well as resilient and self-assured as you progress in your career.  

This course should present many rewarding opportunities for you to explore once you have graduated in many different UK institutions, such as schools, nurseries and charities. Our staff are dedicated to preparing you for the world of work and will help you to decide which role you want to pursue after graduating.

There will be opportunities for you to work, and learn, alongside a variety of professionals delivering services that support the wellbeing, development and learning needs of babies and young children, with this in mind you will have placement opportunities throughout the programme.

A BCU Graduate is professional and work-ready, a creative problem solver, enterprising and has a global outlook.  This expectation is realised through the BA Hons Working with Children, Young People and Families programme which provides you with the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of vulnerable children, young people and their families.  Transferrable skills are considered very highly throughout the programme should you decide not to work directly with children and young people in the future.  We have embraced the Gradate+ scheme  and there are opportunities throughout the programme for you to receive credit for developing your employability skills.  We have a commitment to learning for life and actively encourage you to develop your own research skills and to pursue your learning journey by building on your first degree to Masters level and beyond.  From induction through to your final module your tutor team will support you in exploring career pathways linked to vulnerable children, young people and their families. Working closely with local services will enable you to network and find out what it is like to work in the field.

PLACEMENTS

Placement is an integral part of the programme, there will be chances in your first year to explore and find out information about a range of Early Childhood settings and to visit and shadow professionals working there – this is so you can not only develop professional skills but can also find out about the wide range of professional careers open to you within the field.    These experiences are an integral part of the module ‘Working as a Professional’. Later in the first year you will have a block period of time in an Early Childhood setting so you can develop your observation skills and experience how an early years curriculum is planned, delivered and assessed, This will be part of the module ‘Observing and Assessing Babies and Young Children’. 

Actively engaging with placement and successful completion of a second year module ‘Reflecting on Play, Learning and Pedagogy’ will also help you to meet the criteria for Early Years Educator.  This is the level 3 qualification that means you can be employed in an Early Years Setting as a qualified member of staff.

In the third year there is no scheduled placement, although depending on the topic you choose to examine as part of ‘Researching Professional Practice in Early Childhood’, you may choose to conduct your enquiry in an early years setting.